Notable News: October 2018

How tall are you? Do you eat breakfast cereal? What’s your blood pressure? Oh, and, moms, how old were you when you had babies? The answers to these questions just might be an indicator of your cancer risk. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Well, if October’s Notable News teaches us anything, it’s that strange is not so unusual, especially when it comes to cancer risks.

The mysterious workings of the human body continue to offer up surprises, and appropriately enough for October, the latest surprise is about breast cancer, according to medicalexpress.com. For some time, scientists have known that women who have babies before the age of 30 have a reduced risk of getting breast cancer later in life, but now they know the specific week in which the risk reduction occurs. Women who have babies after 34 weeks averaged a 13.6 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than did women who had no children. The risk reduction if the pregnancy ended just one week earlier was only 2.4 percent. Researchers don’t yet know what magic happens in the 34th week, but they do know that women must be under the age of 30 to benefit from it. More information can be found here.

While we’re on the subject of breast cancer, let’s talk about men because they get breast cancer, too. As Patient Empowerment Network blogger and breast cancer survivor Marie Ennis-O’Connor noted in her October 19 post, Beyond Pink: The Other Side of Breast Cancer Awareness and Lessons We’ve Learned From Each Other, breast cancer is not gender specific. While men make up less than one percent of all breast cancer occurrences, says breastcancer.org, an estimated 2,550 men in the United States have been or will be diagnosed this year. And because men are not routinely screened for breast cancer, they tend to be diagnosed when the disease is more advanced; therefore, it’s important for men to know the risk factors, which can be found here. While breast cancer awareness still focuses mainly on women, more attention is beginning to shift toward men, even making it’s way to primetime television. The series premiere of the new ABC drama A Million Little Things introduces a main male character who is a breast cancer survivor. More information about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer in men can be found here. Please, take the time to find out if you, or the men you love, have any of the risk factors.

There’s a new risk factor to be mindful of…your height. That’s right. Your height. As reported by the guardian.com, the taller people among us are more likely to get cancer simply because they have more cells in their bodies. More cells means more opportunity for mutation. Apparently, it’s true for dogs, too. Bigger dogs, bigger risks. In humans, height seemed to cause an increased risk for 18 out of 23 cancers, including melanoma, which had a stronger link to height than researchers expected. Since there’s not much you can do about your height, researchers suggest that you focus on other risk factors instead, by maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking. Learn more about how height affects your cancer risk here.

You might want to consider breakfast cereal, too, reports freep.com. There is a chemical called glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed killer, Roundup, that is showing up in products that are made with “conventionally grown” oats, which includes a lot of breakfast cereals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer says glyphosate is probably carcinogenic for humans, but Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, maintains the product is safe. While some experts say the information isn’t cause for hysteria, it is a good idea to pay attention to where your food comes from and what might be affecting it. You can find more about the glyphosate content in foods and which foods are affected here. It’s best to stay informed about the potential risks and use your best judgement.

The same holds true for those of you taking blood pressure medication. medicalexpress.com reports that some blood pressure medications might be linked to an increased lung cancer risk. The drugs are angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor drugs (ACEIs), and the risk is elevated for people using the medication for five years or more. Overall, the risk is low, but is notable because of how widely ACEIs are prescribed. ACEIs are very effective at treating blood pressure and, if patients have concerns about any potential cancer risks, they should consider the risks and benefits with their doctors. There is still a lot more to be learned about ACEIs and their connection to lung cancer. You can find out more here.

Whether you’re a tall person who eats breakfast and has high blood pressure or you have some other strange cancer risk, the main thing to remember when it comes to risk factors is to stay informed, because when you have knowledge, you are empowered and that’s what it’s all about.